Only Killers and Thieves

Keith Miles is probably best recognised by readers under the pen name of Edward Marston. He writes several well-received historical mysteries spanning the 11th century through to the 19th century. His website is www.edwardmarston.com

One

RRP: £16.99

Released: June 7 2018

HBK

Paul Howarth’s debut novel is set in the Australian outback in 1885, a time when frontier life was grim, repetitive and unforgiving.

Tommy McBride and his older brother, Billy, scratch a living on their farm with their parents and their sister, Mary. They are warned not to trespass on territory owned by Sullivan, the major landholder in the area. When their parents are brutally murdered, they are forced to turn for help to the notorious Inspector Noone and his Queensland Native Police. The brothers ride off with this villainous army in what turns out to be a stomach-churning education for them.

Since Sullivan has identified the men who killed their parents, Tommy and Billy go deep into the outback in search of them. They fight against extremes of climate and, at one point, are caught into a storm so fierce that they are unable to hear each other talk. When they catch up at last with a band of indigenous Australians, they make no attempt to single out the alleged killers. Noone orders an attack and there is a complete massacre. The brothers not only witness large-scale slaughter and rape, they are forced to take part in it. The last shreds of their innocence are lost forever.

This is a powerful, well-written and well-researched novel that shines a light on a dark period of Australian history. At the heart of it is the faltering relationship between the two brothers, sensitively handled throughout. There’s a wonderful evocation of the daunting landscape in which they live and, in Tommy’s relationship with a girl who survives the massacre, some moments of real tenderness. It’s an uncomfortable read at times but a rewarding one.